Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman: The Powder Brush

Real Techniques by Sam Chapman aka Pixiwoo do get a lot of deserved appreciation, excitement and attention. But I feel that the Powder Brush has perhaps been omitted and while the crowds have turned to covet the buffing or contour brush this is has been somewhat neglected.

The Powder Brush might actually even be my favourite one. Large and fluffy it's perfect for powder but ideal for all-over bronzer, adding definition to cheekbones, even sweeping contouring blush shades onto the area. It's very easy to use and not to dense, which means it would take a stark overloading of the brush for it to ruin your make up. 

Conclusion: Very large, very fluffy, soft and lovely to touch and touch your face with. Great for all over bronzing and adding glow to the skin. 

Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman Powder Brush, £12.99.

Review: The Body Shop Born Lippy Pot Balm in Watermelon

I really wanted to like this.. This is a wonderful lip balm of you're lips is in a perfect condition. So if you don't have any problems with keeping your lips hydrated and smooth you will definitely like this. The balm is almost transparent on the lips, it adds shine and little hint of warmth. It looks great on its own or over a lipstick.

Here comes the but.. The lip balm really fails to care for the lips, hydrate and nourish them. So if you struggle with drier lips, this isn't a balm that would do anything to address that problem. The first ingredient is castor oil, although the balm does also contain lanolin and beeswax.

Conclusion: Great lip balm to add shine to the lips but it will not be able to fix dry, chapped lips. 

The Body Shop, £2.00.

Review: Rimmel Scandal'Eyes Mascara

This is one of the mascaras with a huge, absolutely massive wand just not in a good way..

The mascara itself is ok - the formula is ok, little wet, the staying power is all right and the colour is nicely black but any potentially impressive finished look is completely inhibited by the huge wand.

If you like big mascara wands you may love this one. Keep in mind that it's even bigger than the Bad Gal Lash by Benefit. 

Conclusion: If you like big wands you'll love this. But if you're not sure if you'll be able to work this - you're better off buying something different. 

Rimmel Scandal'Eyes Mascara, £6.99. 

Kelly Brook Lana Eyeshadow Quad

Kelly Brook range of make up can be bough at New Look stores. The range is affordable and consist of the products like eye shadow, lip gloss, nail polish and blusher (although at the moment on New Look website only the quad and lip gloss are available).

I have only tried this quad - the make up is displayed by the tills so you can pick something up whilst queuing, which is what I've done. The colours seemed very nice - they're subtle, delicate, shimmery and the palate is perfect for an everyday, neutral eye. 

The quality however leaves a lot to wish for - the shadows aren't very pigmented and don't translate onto the eye. 

The shades are powdery and wouldn't allow you to create the make up you might be thinking to achieve with those  - shame, considering that in the pan they're are actually very pretty.

Conclusion: These really aren't worth the cash. Considering you'd be in New Look there are better ways to spend £3 there. So instead of picking up frankly pretty useless shadow palette you'll never use I would head towards the jewellery and accessories section, where with a bit of luck your £3 will buy something you'll genuinely enjoy. 

Kelly Brook Lana eyeshadow quad, £2.99.

Review: L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Hourglass Beige

This is a stunning, very, very shimmery frosty, ivory beige shadow. If you're looking for something that will really stand our as an inner corner of the eye highlight or just an all over very brightening shade, then this is exactly what you'll love.

L'Oreal and Armani Eyes To Kill

The Infallible shadows have a great texture, akin to Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill eyeshadow. The textures and the way the product feels can be compared - a colour comparison or outright 'dupe' talk would be taking it too far. Armani Eyes To Kill come in more complex, marbled and unusual shades - L'Oreal ones are very intense and deep but the colours are straightforward. 

For those wondering if the comparison isn't perhaps a little random consider that both L'Oreal Paris and Giorgio Armani Beauty are in fact sister companies - both belong to L'Oreal group. 

Texture

Texture is light, very soft, velvety and the shadow is a compressed pigment that almost has a mousse quality to it. Very pigmented and intense, it shows up beautifully when swachted. 

Conclusion: beautiful, intense shadow - if colours/shades that you like and wear everyday are part of the range I would definitely recommend giving them a go. 

L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow, £6.99. 

Review: Triple Dry

Slightly different topic today: deodorants. Triple Dry 72 hours deodorants differ from 'normal' deodorants in application method and the result the give. I personally think these are great and if you do ever struggle, these will quite literally change your life. You could of course use this type of deodorants only during summer when the sweat mark problem is more likely to occur. I find that the sweat mark problem can be caused not just by high temperature but also type/quality of fabrics of tops we wear and Triple Dry does address the issue entirely. 

Application

Triple Dry is applied in the evening, after you took a shower and are ready to call it a day. Apparently, the skin is more receptive to an anti-perspirant while sleeping. This is repeated for four consecutive nights and after that only as often as needed. 

Results
Triple dry has three active ingredients: Aluminium Sesquichlorohydrate, Aluminium Chlorohydrate, Aluminium Chlorohydrex PG. I'd be lying if I said I could tell you more about them. Granted, this is not a 'natural' way to take care of the sweating issue, which frankly disappears completely once you use Triple Dry regularly. But it does work, makes my life easier and I'm sticking to it.

The smell
First, I bought the blue one, which is the unfragranced version. I then went out to get the pink one hoping for a bit of a pleasant smell, but you can barely tell it's there upon application, after you can't really tell at all. 

Alternatives
There are other products like this on the market, although this is the only one I've tried: it was the first and it worked so I didn't explore this further. But if you can't get hold of Triple Dry or you dislike it, then there are alternatives (Driclor, PerspireX). I know Rexona and Dove both have released deodorants that are applied at night time. I've tried the Dove one but it didn't really do anything any other regular deodorant wouldn't do. So perhaps if you've tried one of those and were disappointed then maybe something like Triple Dry will be ideal. 

Conclusion: This may not be the ideal solution for many of those, who dislike the idea of stopping underarm sweating entirely. But anyone who ever struggled with sweat marks will certainly love it. 

Triple Dry, £7.14 (but shop around, they're often on offer)

Body Care Essentials

Personally, I have found that body care routine could comprise of as little as four products and still be incredibly effective. There is no need for hundreds of bottles in the shower and there is no need for expensive products either, these four do the job perfectly.

In the shower: rich, silky (not watery) shower cream & exfoliating gloves
I have been using exfoliating gloves for years now and I absolutely adore them. Any brand works ok, although these ones from Soap & Glory are pink, which is a huge advantage (£4). Something to keep in mind when using exfoliating gloves: a rich, creamy shower cream is a must, watery shower gels that dissolve quickly and don't allow a massage will turn the gloves work into a scratching rather than exfoliating session.
I generally stick to any shower cream by Dove  - they're all wonderful. The one I have right now is the Dove Supreme Fine Silk Creme Bath, £3.15.

Moisturizing: Oil plus Lotion
First, use a very fine mist of body oil on damp skin. Boots Botanics use to have a body oil that came in a spray bottle but I think it's been discontinued so I use the bottle and fill it up with other body oils. The one from Nivea (Firming Body Oil is a great choice, £6.96). After that: lotion. There are many pricey options out there but the lotion I love the most has to be the Garnier Intensive 7 Days (£4.99). All smell wonderful, but the Cocoa Butter smells so incredible, you'll wish it was edible.

Conclusion: the routine is quick, simple and even the cash outlay wouldn't have your bank manager stalking you. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Maybelline Baby Lips Review

After the Revlon Lip Butters, this has to be one of the most anticipated, talked about products to have been released for a long while. They have conquered an incredible amount of cyber space - and this post is only adding to the momentum.
I think it is wonderful that a lip balm can evoke so much excitement and joy  - I only wish it was a good one. Maybelline Baby Lips promise to provide long lasting, 8 hours of moisture and more broadly promise to give you somehow more beautiful, youthful looking lips.
Unfortunately, I do find the moisture only lasts few moments and lips enjoy a soothing, soft feel for as long as the product remains piled on your lips. Once absorbed, any promise of lip caring properties vanishes immediately. I picked up only the two transparent shades (Intense Care and Hydrate) so my advice for anyone still lusting after these and hungrily looking up 3 for 2 offers: maybe the second or third product you choose could be a Maybelline mascara or one of the new brow products - Baby Lips aren't the best product to pick up in great numbers.

Conclusion: If you are looking for something that will genuinely care for your lips, there are other products you could consider, good old Nivea range, classic Carmex or Burt's Bees are only few worthy of your cash.

Maybelline Baby Lips, £2.99.

Herbal Essences Hello Hydration

I wanted to love this shampoo.. It's affordable, easy to get hold of and it smells absolutely divine. I used both the shampoo and the deep nourishing mask  - I usually don't bother with the regular conditioner and only go for the deep treatments; they're only applied to lengths and ends of the hair anyway.
Don't get me wrong, I do really like these two but I would be lying if I said they've radically changed the way my hair feels. They're very nice, but just that - they're not incredible and they don't transform the hair.

Conclusion: They're just really lovely, everyday shampoo and conditioner that won't disappoint but won't rock your world either.

Having said that, I do love the scent of these so maybe one day Herbal Essences will release a leave-in spray type product that would work as a hair mist/fragrance? Please? Pretty please, Herbal Essences?

Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Shampoo, £3.89.
Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Deep Nourishing Intensive Mask, £3.99.

Nude pink lips.. Some of my favourite products

These are just some of my favourite lip products for soft, delicate looking pink lips.. I'm a huge fan of these colours - they're easy to wear, they are versatile and touching up, even without a mirror is not a problem.

I could swatch each product, describe it, tell you what I think.. but the truth is most of these products look very similar on the lips. The lipsticks give you a thin coating of colour and texture, the lip glosses are thinner and glossier but most look very similar. I love and use all of these. All of the glosses are without shimmer and there are two lipsticks here (BarryM 132 and Rimmel Parade) that have shimmer so I reach for these two a little less but they still look lovely on the lips and add more volume than other lip products here do.